The Power of Tactics Volume 2: Become a Tactical Wizard

Link to offer Part 1 + 2

The middlegame is the most important part of the game, as the majority of encounters are decided there. We know that sometimes it is difficult to pide strategy and tactic, as they both have the same aim — to win the game. Strategy is the more difficult subject, because it involves planning and structures: tactics helps to conduct these plans in the fastest way.

In olden times it was the pision of the style of players — TACTICAL and STRATEGIC. In modern chess this pision practically does not exist, as every top player is able to operate with all tools. Still we can name as tactical-style players such great attackers as Mikhail Tal, Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Albin Planinc and Victor Kupreichik. Perhaps, in reality, their strategy was a bit simpler with the aim of direct attack on the opponent’s king, and not simply attacking some weakness on the queenside, for example.

During the times of the Soviet chess school, the label TACTICIAN led to an underestimation of attackers. But we all know that the chess public enjoy attacking play and admire great attackers much more than pure, boring strategists. Of course, this attitude is connected with the openings. For example, in gambits, players have to consider many more tactical elements than in, for example, the Carlsbad variation of the Queen’s Gambit. Likewise, the Sicilian Defence with kings castled on opposite sides and fierce pawn attacks on both flanks; here tactics and sacrifices are in the air as the strategy was prepared from the fi rst moves of the openings.

There are many valuable books on tactics, and many authors have presented classifications of tactical motifs and themes. But some of them are too academic — in modern times we require a much more practical education. For this reason, nowadays different test books have become very popular. Become a Tactical Wizard is the second book in the series Th e Power of Tactics. In this second volume, the authors continue to develop their ideas from the first book — Tactics According to Smyslov — where they explain that in chess there are four main tactical elements (check, pin, double attack and unprotected pieces).

They have added very instructive exercises revolving around mating attacks and queen sacrifices to achieve diff erent goals and, in my opinion an extremely important element, defensive tactics.

IGM Aleksandr Beliavsky.

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